Battle Between Uber And New York City Mayor Heats Up

Uber isn’t all free ice-cream and kittens, the ride-sharing app has revved up its attacks against New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio over his proposal to cap Uber’s growth in New York.

According to the New York’s Department of Transportation, the number of for-hire vehicles operating in New York City has increased 63 per cent since 2011. Mayor de Blasio’s proposal would cap the number of cars Uber could use for up to a year while city officials study the huge congestion problems in New York.

Uber’s masthead on The New York Times homepage

Uber is pushing back with force, taking out a masthead campaign on The New York Time‘s homepage (above) attacking de Blasio’s proposal. The ad references a Times opinion piece about why de Blasio’s legislation is “a bad idea” and a link to the Uber online petition.

This New York Times masthead isn’t the only channel Uber is using to attack the Mayor. Uber has also ran an app campaign urging users to sign a “Support Uber NYC” petition. It’s also retweeting Twitter posts attacking the Mayor.

Uber has also been running a TV campaign against the proposal. The sappy TVCs, starring Uber drivers, portray de Blasio as out of touch, giving into the taxi industry and an enemy to working residents:

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